Khalil Laltoo

Khalil is passionate about the environment, writing, and martial arts. One of the issues he cares deeply about is food justice. During high school, he was a part of his school's community action team and organized regular student trips to the local food bank and several urban farms. He is a lover of nature and has done work for the Student Conservation Association. His goals for the year are to learn the secrets of true Indian cooking, reach a greater understanding of local history and politics, develop and explore his racial and spiritual identity, and gain a new perspective on what it means to be a part of a community. Favorite Quote: "Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced." - Soren Kierkegaard

Watch this first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtR9_xxVAdQ&feature=youtu.be My host mom recently sent me this video from my last night in India. In it, I am dressed in a kurta, standing on stage in front of many host families, reciting a poem in Hindi titled “Ode to Dal Rice”….

It was about 10:30 am, and we had just wrapped up our visit to the Taj Mahal. We exited from the south gate onto a street of noisy vendors who beckoned us into their shops, waving magnets and snow globes and other Taj paraphernalia. We…

It was a warm Sunday morning and I had just made my way down the bustling and noisy Nagar Road, to the front of Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. When you hear sanctuary, you probably get images of grand landscapes of preserved natural beauty. Not Salim…

I originally intended to write a poem about this experience, but sometimes poetry can be a bit strenuous. If a journal entry is like a window into someone’s life, then a poetry is like a prism. Disconnected events, colors, feelings, and fleeting moments are condensed…

Dig for the Roots What is it about this land? I saw a dragon born of evening clouds bow its great head as it lost its way in the pink smoke of the bat streaked sky It is what remains of the natural here, stretches…

Almost a year ago, I was standing on line at Books Inc. on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, when I witnessed a fascinating interaction unfold in front of me. A woman had just bought an Indian cookbook and was about to leave the register, when the elderly…